There’s been a lot of media drooling over the latest research which suggests that withdrawal may be a legitimate form of birth control. This is great news for couples in long-term, monogamous, committed relationships who have complete trust in one another, who have made an educated decision to be bodily-fluid bonded, and who would not be too bummed with an unintended pregnancy. But we’re guessing the majority of sex going on in the world does not fall into this category of relationship. More often it’s sex of a slightly more casual nature (think drunken Saturday night strangers, office workers after the holiday party, a friend consoling another needy friend, exes returning to the well, spouses cheating on each other, teenagers experimenting, online daters, etc., etc.) — all situations where “pull and pray” is a dumb-ass idea. So before you go throwing your condoms away, please consider this:

Control — Ladies, when you rely on the withdrawal method, you are relinquishing all control over your birth control. You’re basically losing autonomy over your body, relying on another being to do (it) right by you. Women have fought too long and hard for the freedom to make their own choices about their own bodies for you to just pass that power over to a dude.

Pre-ejaculate — Most experts agree that after a man ejaculates but before he urinates, sperm can hang out in his piping. Which means if he goes for round two before a whiz, there’s a good chance his little swimmers will ride the wave of his pre-ejaculatory fluid (a.k.a. pre-come) into your love bay, rendering a perfectly timed pull-out pointless.

Poor performance — Guys, you know how some orgasms are: you lose sense of time and space, you lose the ability to think straight and speak normally, and you lose control of all facial expressions. Something with that kind of power over your mind and body can and most likely will throw off your timing, as well as your best intentions. Sure, a small, rational part of your brain may be planning on pulling out, but in the heat of the moment, every other fiber of your being is telling you not to do that. Who are you gonna put your money on?

STDs, STDs, STDs! This is a biggie. Condoms significantly reduce the risk of STD transmission — that’s what makes them so great (well that, and the easy clean-up). With withdrawal, you’ve got nothing — you’re just giving bacteria, viruses and parasites unlimited backstage access to your or your partner’s naughty bits.

Liars — Again ladies, there are plenty of jerks out there. (You gals can be bad too, but that’s another post entirely.) Some guys will say and do anything to ride bareback, even when they know it’s not true — e.g. “I just got tested, I’m clean,” or “I’ve got great timing” or “I’ve never not used a condom with anyone else before” or “I love you” or “Trust me.” Basically, if a guy says “Trust me” when he’s asking you to engage in risky sexual behavior, don’t!

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16 Comments on "5 Reasons Why the Pull-Out Method (Withdrawal) Is Not as Good as Condoms"

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Be Careful

3 years 6 months ago

Two separate thoughts: 1) It seems totally reasonable at the time to trust a friend-turned boyfriend that claims to have been thoroughly tested for STDs, but if you feel even the slightest sense of unease about any aspect of the guy (even if it’s just “I don’t like how moody this guy seems to become every X days”), *listen* to it and use anti-STD contraception. You don’t want to realize one day, a decade later, that a minor periodic problem started only after that decision and might be symptoms of a STD… 2) While it makes total sense to avoid… Read more »

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dallas

3 years 10 months ago

I was in an LTR where we (stupidly) relied on the pull-out method for 4 of the 5 years we were together. I only got on birth control the last year. While my ex, to his credit, was great about pulling out every time, and though he never came inside me, we did have a couple of scares. I never got pregnant but I did take my share of pregnancy tests. I wouldn’t recommend the pull-out method as a reliable form of birth control. My situation is clearly an anomaly and believe me I’m thankful every day, and wonder how… Read more »

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Liza

3 years 10 months ago

It’s my birth control of choice. I’m not keen on putting hormones in my body and dealing with weight gain, mood swings, and certain health risks. I’m in a monogamous relationship and we accept the risk. He must be pulling out in time because I have not conceived in the 3 years we have been doing this. Yes, I trust him at this point. It’s free, it’s natural, and it seems to work for us.

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Anna

5 years 7 months ago

I have been with my boyfriend for almost 3 years. We dated for a year using condoms until I got on the Pill. Ever since then, we have not used condoms and he has not pulled out when he cums. I’ve never had any pregnancy scares or been late (this also due to the fact I take my pills at 8am every morning). So the decision is truly yours, but be careful no matter what lol.

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jules

7 years 22 days ago

It’s definitely risky for the reasons listed but it does seem to work for some people. I was very careless with condoms all during my teen years, letting my boyfriends pull out on my belly instead. I never got pregnant, so it must work to a certain extent.

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Madamoselle L

7 years 1 month ago

My man and I have used withdrawal as contraception for the past 25 years. Yes, we are monogamous, we trust each other, (why would one have sex with someone if you didn’t?) and it has worked. He has never “forgotten” in the heat of the moment, never lied, never came before he pulled out. The only time he has NOT withdrawn is only a couple of times,(not counting periods) and ONLY at my urging (and yeah, I got pregnant twice as the result of this, but we were OK with the idea of more kids, so it wasn’t a big… Read more »